Haiku is an open-source operating system, currently in development, that specifically targets personal computing. Inspired by the Be Operating System (BeOS), Haiku aims to become a fast, efficient, simple to use, easy to learn and yet very powerful system for computer users of all levels. The key highlights that distinguish Haiku from other operating systems include: specific focus on personal computing, custom kernel designed for responsiveness, fully threaded design for great efficiency with multi-processor/core CPUs, rich object-oriented API for faster development, database-like file system (BFS) with support for indexed metadata, and unified, cohesive interface.

Avi Miller has announced the release of Oracle Linux 7 Update 6, the latest version of the company's enterprise-class Linux distribution built from the source code of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7.6: "Oracle is pleased to announce the general availability of Oracle Linux 7 Update 6 for the x86_64 and Arm architectures. You can find the individual RPM packages on both the Unbreakable Linux Network (ULN) and the Oracle Linux yum server. ISO installation images will soon be available for download from the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud. Notable new features in this release: Pacemaker now supports path, mount, and timer systemd unit files. Although previous releases of Pacemaker supported service and socket systemd unit files, alternative units would fail. Pacemaker can now manage path, mount and timer systemd units. Package installation and upgrade using rpm can be tracked using audit events. The RPM package manager has been updated to provide audit events so that software package installation and updates can be tracked using the Linux Audit system. Software installation and upgrades using yum are also tracked." Further details on new features can be found in the release announcement and in the release notes. ISO files can be downloaded through the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud.

Oracle Linux is an enterprise-class Linux distribution supported by Oracle and built from source packages for Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL). Some of the special features of Oracle Linux include a custom-build and rigorously-tested Linux kernel called "Oracle Unbreakable Kernel", tight integration with Oracle's hardware and software products including most database applications, and "zero downtime patching" - a feature that enables administrators to update the kernel without a reboot.

Avi Miller has announced the release of Oracle Linux 7 Update 5, the latest version of the company's enterprise-class Linux distribution built from the source code of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) 7.5: "Oracle is pleased to announce the general availability of Oracle Linux 7 Update 5 for the x86_64 architecture. Notable security-related features in this release: support for Memory Protection Keys on recent Intel processors - CPUs provide this support through a new user-accessible register (PKRU) that contains two separate bits; ability to unlock encrypted devices connected to a network during the boot process; SSLv3 disabled in mod_ssl, this change also restricts the use of certain cryptographic cipher suites; KASLR (kernel address-space layout randomization) for KVM guests added. Btrfs continues to be fully supported in Oracle Linux 7.5 with Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK). Btrfs support is deprecated in the Red Hat Compatible Kernel." See the release announcement and the release notes for further information. Download: OracleLinux-R7-U5-Server-x86_64-dvd.iso (4,235MB, SHA256, pkglist).

Scott Lynn has announced the release of Oracle Linux 7 Update 4, an updated build of the company's enterprise-class Linux distribution built from the source code for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.4 but featuring its own "unbreakable" kernel. This version was announced last month, but it was only yesterday that the installation DVD images appeared on public mirrors. From the release announcement: "Oracle is pleased to announce the general availability of Oracle Linux 7 Update 4 for x86-64 servers. What's new? Enhancements to Oracle Linux 7 included in this update are included for several key areas, including security, support for Cloud and Container environments, and performance. Oracle Linux 7 Update 4 continues to enhance your security stance with several new capabilities. UEFI Secure Boot - a system in Secure Boot mode loads only those boot loaders and kernels that have been signed by Oracle. Oracle has updated the kernel and GRUB 2 packages to sign them with a valid Extended Validation (EV) certificate. The EV certificate has been compiled into the shim binary and has been signed by Microsoft. OpenSSH now uses SHA-2 - by default, the algorithm for public key signatures that is used in this release is SHA-2." See also the release notes for technical details. Download: OracleLinux-R7-U4-Server-x86_64-dvd.iso (4,710MB, pkglist).

Oracle has announced the release of an update to the company's Oracle Linux 6 distribution. The new version, Oracle Linux 6 Update 9, includes multiple updated kernels, including two new "Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel" packages and a "Red Hat Compatible Kernel" package. The new update to the 6.x series also includes a number of significant bug fixes. "Oracle Linux 6 Update 9 fixes a regression introduced in glibc in the upstream release that could cause Oracle Database to fail to start in certain circumstances. This regression was found and fixed during Oracle's extensive testing of Oracle Linux with Oracle products. Customers using other Linux distributions with Oracle Database are encouraged to talk to their Linux provider about whether they also have a patch available. Notable features in this release include: TLS 1.2 support for all system components; the cpuid utility is now available; improved support when running as a Hyper-V guest; enhanced SSSD support for Active Directory...." Further information on the new release can be found in the company's release announcement and release notes. Download: OracleLinux-R6-U9-Server-x86_64-dvd.iso (3,861MB, SHA256).

Oracle has announced the release of a new version of Oracle Linux. The new version, Oracle Linux 7.3, represents an incremental update to the company's 7.x series. The new version supports booting on UEFI-enabled computers and will run on machines with Secure Boot turned on. Oracle Linux provides two flavours of the Linux kernel: Oracle's Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK) and a Red Hat Compatible Kernel (RHCK). "The Oracle Linux and Virtualization team is pleased to announce the general availability of Oracle Linux 7 Update 3 for x86-64 servers. Users with a support subscription can download ISOs from My Oracle Support. ISO installation images can also be downloaded from Oracle Software Delivery Cloud. Individual RPM packages for Oracle Linux 7 Update 3 are available on the public yum server and the Unbreakable Linux Network (ULN). This is the first Oracle Linux 7 ISO to include UEK Release 4 (UEK R4)." Further information can be found in the release announcement. Oracle Linux can be downloaded from the company's Oracle Software Delivery Cloud (requires subscription) of from one if its public mirrors: OracleLinux-R7-U3-Server-x86_64-dvd.iso (4,425MB).

Oracle has announced the release of Oracle Linux 7.2. Oracle Linux is built from Red Hat Enterprise Linux source code and is designed to be binary compatible with Red Hat's product. Oracle Linux 7.2 ships with two kernels, a "Red Hat Compatible Kernel" and Oracle's "Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel", and by default the latter is booted. "We're happy to announce the general availability of Oracle Linux 7 Update 2, the second update release for Oracle Linux 7. You can find the individual RPM packages on the Unbreakable Linux Network (ULN) and the Oracle Linux Yum Server and ISO installation images are available for download from the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud. Oracle Linux 7 Update 2 ships with the following kernel packages: Red Hat Compatible Kernel (kernel-3.10.0-327.el7) for x86-64; Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK) Release 3 (kernel-uek-3.8.13-98.6.1.el7uek) for x86-64. By default, both the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel and the Red Hat Compatible Kernel are installed and the system boots the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel." Further information on this release can be found in Oracle's release announcement. The distribution can be downloaded from the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud (requires registration). At this time the update has not been pushed to Oracle's download mirrors.

Oracle has announced the release of Oracle Linux 6.7, the latest release of the distribution's legacy branch based on Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.7: "We're happy to announce the general availability of Oracle Linux 6 Update 7, the seventh update release for Oracle Linux 6. You can find the individual RPM packages on the Unbreakable Linux Network (ULN) and our public yum repository and ISO installation images are available for download from the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud. Notable features in this release include: Open Security Content Automation Protocol (OpenSCAP), including the oscap utility for enhanced security auditing and compliance; Load Balancing and High Availability with Keepalived and HAProxy, supported under Oracle Linux Premier Support subscriptions; enhanced SSSD support for Active Directory, including dynamic updates to DNS, group and user lookups of NetBIOS names, site discovery of domain controllers...." See the release announcement for more information. Download: OracleLinux-R6-U7-Server-x86_64-dvd.iso (3,733MB, SHA1, pkglist).

Michele Casey has announced the release of Oracle Linux 7.1, a distribution rebuilt from the source code for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.1, but featuring a custom kernel and enhancements: "We're happy to announce the general availability of Oracle Linux 7 Update 1, the first update release for Oracle Linux 7. All packages are currently available on ULN and public yum; ISO installation images will be freely available for download from the Oracle Software Delivery Cloud soon. Oracle Linux 7 Update 1 ships with the following kernel packages: Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel (UEK) Release 3 (kernel 3.8.13) for x86-64; Red Hat Compatible Kernel (kernel 3.10.0) for x86-64. Oracle Linux 7 update 1 provides the latest features and innovations, such as: Linux container support using either Docker or LXC with UEK Release 3; comprehensive dynamic tracing with DTrace and UEK Release 3; production support for Btrfs with UEK Release 3; the latest 3rd party hardware support." The release announcement was published last Friday, but the new installation DVD images were only uploaded to mirrors today. Download from here: OracleLinux-R7-U1-Server-x86_64-dvd.iso (4,095MB, MD5, pkglist).

Oracle has announced the release of Oracle Linux 6.6, an enterprise-class distribution based on the recently-released Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.6. "Oracle is pleased to announce the general availability of Oracle Linux 6.6 for x86 (32-bit) and x86_64 (64-bit) architectures. Oracle Linux 6 Update 6 ships with three sets of kernel packages: Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 2 for x86; Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel Release 3 for x86_64; Red Hat Compatible Kernel for x86 and x86_64. By default, both the Unbreakable Enterprise Kernel and the Red Hat Compatible Kernel are installed. UEK R3 includes the following major improvements over UEK R2: integrated DTrace support in the UEK R3 kernel and user-space tracing of DTrace-enabled applications; device mapper support for an external, read-only device as the origin for a thinly-provisioned volume...." Read the rest of the release announcement for a full list of improvements. Download: OracleLinux-R6-U6-Server-x86_64-dvd.iso (3,675MB, SHA1, pkglist).